​Three new district superintendents elected

Three new Wesleyan district superintendents were elected in the summer of 2017.

Rev. Wesley Smith (left) was elected by the Northwest District on June 28 to become its superintendent upon the retirement of former district superintendent Rev. Isaac Smith. Wesley, the son of Isaac and Esther Smith, served the past six years as superintendent of the Mountain Plains District. Previously, he served as senior pastor of New Life Wesleyan Church in Gillette, Wyo.

Rev. Peter Moore (middle) was elected superintendent of the Atlantic District on July 13 when Dr. H. C. Wilson vacated the office to devote more time to his responsibilities as national superintendent of The Wesleyan Church of Canada. Dr. Wilson and Rev. Moore have worked together for eight years–five at Global Partners, where Moore served as director of operations and three years in the Atlantic District office as assistant district superintendent.

Dr. Billy Wilson (right) was elected by the Mountain Plains District on July 22 to replace outgoing district superintendent Rev. Wesley Smith. He had served since 2011 as the senior pastor at New Life Wesleyan Church in Gillette, Wyoming.

Wesley Smith attended Oklahoma Wesleyan University, where he played basketball. He later transferred to the University of Wyoming and earned a degree in business marketing. Following graduation, he established a marketing company, which included consulting and hosting business seminars. He and his wife, Christine, have three children: Morgan, 20; Caleb, 18; and Dawson, 13.

Peter Moore spent his entire childhood as a “missionary kid” in Zambia, Africa, where his parents served as Wesleyan missionaries. A graduate of Kingswood University, he served for 10 years as senior pastor at Dartmouth-Hillside Wesleyan Church in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, before becoming director of operations for Global Partners for seven years. He and his wife, Ellen, are the parents of three daughters, Mallory, 20; Julia, 16; and Shorey, 11.

Billy Wilson’s undergraduate degree is from MidAmerica Nazarene University. He earned the Master of Arts from Nazarene Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from George Fox University. He pastored churches in Pierre, S.D., and Olathe, Kansas, before moving to New Life in Gillette to become executive pastor in 2010, then senior pastor in 2011. He and his wife, Kim, are the parents of twins, Caleb and Hannah, along with Grace and Daniel. Caleb is youth pastor at Mitchell Wesleyan Church (South Dakota), Hannah is a senior at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Grace is a junior at OKWU and Daniel is entering his senior year of high school.

In other district news, the Eastern New York-New England District Conference voted to change its name to the Northeast District. Rev. W. Paul James is the district superintendent of Northeast, which includes the eastern counties of New York, and the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.